Washington D.C.

Elderly Washingtonians are falling victim to predatory — and often unlicensed — investors, developers, and scammers looking to profit off of their homes.

Why it matters: Redevelopment efforts are leading to displacement and diminished opportunity for intergenerational wealth for some of the District's oldest residents, who are often Black.

The trend is highlighted by the decline in minority D.C. residents over the last few decades.

The Navy Yard area was the hardest hit, with a 72% decrease in Black residents between 2000 and 2018.

What's happening: Developers are targeting communities, such Navy Yard, with skyrocketing property values and knocking on the doors of long-time homeowners who may be behind on their mortgage payments or property taxes.

"They're all related," Deborah Cuevas Hill, a lawyer with Legal Counsel for the Elderly, says of falling behind on payments and falling prey to housing scams. 

"When someone faces hard times and has a hard time paying these bills, they are more likely to be preyed on by scammers."

Shady investors will frequently push "quick, hassle-free sales" even after a homeowner says they're not interested in selling. And most times these offers are far below the home's market value, Cuevas Hill says.

She's seen cases where seniors unknowingly sell their homes by signing one single document and later get sued for not showing up to closing.

Be smart: The current moratorium on evictions makes it hard to track recent numbers on evictions and predatory behavior overall because new cases aren't being filed right now.

Once the moratorium lifts, more longtime residents will be at risk of losing their homes. 

What's next: While Attorney General Karl Racine's Elder Justice helps with housing scams targeting the elderly, Legal Counsel for the Elderly is advocating for additional changes.

Expanded licensing requirements would prevent unlicensed developers and investors from being able to easily operate predatory businesses.

Do-not-call and do-not-solicit lists would limit contact between scammers and elderly homeowners.

Additional disclosures, especially regarding a home's market value, would help with transparency.

Elderly D.C. residents are falling victim to housing scams

It's fueling D.C.'s gentrification problem.

Illustration of a shadowy hand looming over three row houses. 

Washington, D.C.

Real Estate

The politicization of pandemic policies has reached the online review platform Yelp, and has resulted in an increase in negative restaurant reviews targeting COVID-19 safety policies,

Why it matters: The food and service industry doesn't need any other hurdles to overcome following almost two years of constant COVID-related setbacks.

An influx of negative reviews from people who are angry about vaccination or mask policies can do real damage to businesses struggling to climb back from pandemic-induced financial problems.

What's happening: "Review bombing" or bombarding a restaurant with inauthentic reviews after it gains media attention or implements a new policy has become increasingly common for restaurants with vaccine requirements, Yelp says.

In one recent instance, restaurant Reliable Tavern tweeted about a spam user seemingly targeting local restaurants with the same negative Yelp review; the spammer was later banned. 

Yelp does have multiple systems in place to flag and remove reviews that aren't based on first-hand customer experiences. 

The company tells Axios it's removed over 17,000 reviews nationally that violated its special COVID Content Guidelines since the start of the pandemic.

Businesses do have the option to opt-in or out of the platform's "proof of vaccination required" and "all staff fully vaccinated" attributes.

Business owners can't remove their business from the platform entirely.

Yes, but: Some D.C. restaurant owners say the company isn't doing enough to combat fake reviews—COVID-related or not. 

Josh Saltzman, co-owner of Ivy & Coney, says websites such as Yelp just allow annoyed patrons, who often don't reflect the rest of an establishment's clientele, to air out their complaints.

"There's no way that this guy went to 90 restaurants and ... writes the exact same review," Saltzman says of the spam review that also targeted Ivy & Coney. "That should automatically be caught by a filter." 

Chris Kennedy, who owns Reliable Tavern, says they haven't gotten pushback on their pandemic policies outside of that spam message, but negative reviews, pandemic-related or not, serve as another blow to struggling businesses.

Kennedy adds that he doesn't know how much reviews impact business as it's difficult to measure, but adds that numbers do matter to people glancing at Google to find a place to go and eat. A negative review can drag down ratings, he says.

Be smart: Earlier this year, some bars and music venues pushed the city for a blanket vaccination requirement for indoor venues. D.C. government instead encouraged individual restaurants to implement (and enforce) their own policies. 

At Ivy & Coney, Saltzman says, people have largely been supportive — just as they were on the first night vaccine cards were required, as Washington City Paper reported. 

"But you know, the reality is that it shouldn't be individual restaurants and bars," Saltzman adds. "It should be the D.C. government, and it would move a lot smoother."

Zoom out: Both New York City and Los Angeles have issued a blanket vaccine mandate for some indoor settings. 

D.C. restaurants hit with "review bombs"

Yelp says it removed around 4,500 hundred reviews nationally that violated its content policy between January and August.

Illustration of Yelp logo with an angry face.

Food and Drink

Business

COVID

An explosive investigation into the Washington Football Team's working conditions has uncovered career-ending emails, and sparked nationwide conversations about discrimination in the NFL and journalistic integrity, Paige writes.

Why it matters: While Jon Gruden has stepped down from his post with the Las Vegas Raiders, the investigation's fallout continues to rope-in recent Washington Football Team officials.

Lawyers representing the team offered a financial settlement to female former employees who alleged sexual assault, with the stipulation that the women stop speaking publicly about their experiences, a recent Washington Post report found. 

Zoom in: Former WFT president Bruce Allen was involved in some of Gruden's newly uncovered vulgar email correspondence, including messages that used homophobic slurs.  

The intrigue: The initial investigation had nothing to do with Gruden or the Raiders.

It started in 2020 after 15 female employees and two journalists who covered the WFT team shared their stories of sexual assault and verbal abuse with the Washington Post, which broke the story.

Yet, Gruden's emails were the only ones leaked, which has raised questions about what may be in the inboxes of other top league officials and coaches. 

In the midst of the chaos, the team announced Thursday that during Sunday's game it would retire the number 21 in honor of Sean Taylor, who was killed in 2007 during a robbery attempt at his Florida home.

The team apologized hours later for announcing the retirement ceremony so last-minute.  

What's next: Former Washington cheerleaders and employees are among those calling for the NFL to release more from the investigation, including more emails.

Some of those former employees are petitioning NFL corporate sponsors, including Amazon, Nike, and Pepsi, to join them in pressuring the league for increased transparency.

NFL email scandal embroils Washington Football Team

While Jon Gruden has stepped down from his post with the Las Vegas Raiders, the investigation’s fallout continues to rope-in recent Washington Football team officials.

A black and white image: Washington football players run onto the field through a haze of fog.

News

Howard University students are staging a sit-in to demand school officials address safety concerns and give students representation on the board of trustees, Paige writes. 

Students at the prestigious HBCU are reporting black mold, water leaks, bugs and rodents in university facilities, all while the price of tuition increases. 

Why it matters: This is the second large student protest of its kind in the last few years at Howard. Students and alumni say the university still isn’t putting students first. 

Howard's Cynthia Evers, the vice president of student affairs, released a statement saying the university supports the right to peaceful protest, and "the well-being of our students is always one of our top concerns."

The statement also details some of the work the university has done to provide housing for students and to address other concerns, including representation on the board of trustees.

HU's housing occupancy rate is 94%, according to the statement, which also says some students were asked to meet with judicial affairs to discuss code of conduct violations.

Driving the news: Since Tuesday night, students have been staging a sit-in at Blackburn Center on campus. 

Axios' Chelsea Cirruzzo was turned away after attempting to get on campus Wednesday afternoon. 

HU senior Aniyah Vines and founder of The Live Movement, an advocacy group for HBCU students, tells Axios that university officials threatened to expel students who didn’t leave, and pulled a false fire alarm to force students out. 

She also says MPD officers attempted to forcibly remove them from Blackburn.

Vines tells Axios that she got sick from mold in her dorm and had to be moved. 

“People are saying the same things in 2021 as they did in 2018. So that means that nothing is happening. No change is being made,” the student leader said of university officials responding to student needs. 

Vines — who’d been protesting for 36 hours straight without sleep when she spoke with Axios — says students will continue to pressure the administration until their demands are met. 

Howard University students protest campus safety and facilities

Students at the prestigious HBCU are reporting black mold, flooding, bugs and rodents in university facilities while the price of tuition increases.

Howard University freshman move-in at the start of the 2021-22 school year.

Howard University freshmen move in at the start of the 2021-22 school year. Photo: Paige Hopkins/Axios

D.C.’s restaurant scene is enormous, so we’re targeting specific neighborhoods for some of our food roundups.

Today, we’re zoning in on affordable lunch options around Columbia Heights, because it’s one of our favorite neighborhoods and it has quality food that doesn’t break the bank.

Taqueria Habanero: The 99% Mexican restaurant has some of the most flavorful tacos you’ll eat in D.C.

What we’re ordering: One chorizo and one carnitas taco ($3.50 each) and a side of Arroz Mexicano ($3.50). If you have a little extra to splurge, order the agua fresca of the day for a refreshing drink ($3). 

Heat Da Spot Café (technically Park View): The Ethiopian restaurant has a menu full of filling, affordable entrees. Plus, they serve breakfast all day.

What we’re ordering: The pancake with heat special for $9.99. It comes with eggs, potatoes, onion, green pepper, and a choice of sausage, bacon, or ham.

El Chucho - Cocina Superior: The popular restaurant is a great lunch option, but keep an eye out for their weekend brunch specials too. 

What we’re ordering: Chicken tacos (2 for $6) and elote callejero ($4.75). 

Sonny’s (also technically Park View): Thanks to the highly coveted elementary school pizza party, pizza continues to be a top-tier lunch, ioo (in our opinion).

What we’re ordering: A slice of pepperoni ($4.25) and a slice of arugula and chili oil ($4.25). 

What’s next: You tell us. Which neighborhoods should we scour next for lunch deals? Let us know at dc@axios.com. 

Low-cost lunches: Columbia Heights

Three open-face tacos on a bright yellow plate with a lime wedge and radish on the side.

Taqueria Habanero tacos. Photo: Paige Hopkins/Axios

Paige Hopkins

Featured stories

NFL email scandal embroils Washington Football Team

Howard University students protest campus safety and facilities

Low-cost lunches: Columbia Heights

D.C. restaurants hit with "review bombs"

Elderly D.C. residents are falling victim to housing scams